The Unspeakable Tales
Chapter 2 – British Troubles II
Once more, Harry found himself walking down the black-tiled corridors of the real Department of Mysteries. Doors and lanterns passed him by as Harry's gaze flickered to each number displayed on them.
Eventually coming to a stop, Harry looked at the door labelled number 77 and then looked down at the note he had been given, confirming the address. 'Guess this is it.' Pushing down the handle, Harry opened the door and stepped into the room to find it completely spartan. A simple bed, cupboard, and a bedside table with a lamp on it.
Moving towards the bed, Harry sat down on it.
It wasn't comfortable, there really wasn't much in the way of comfort and Harry doubted that was by accident. If Croakers dismissal of Harry's injuries were anything to go by, he'd wager that these beds were purposefully made as uncomfortable as possible. It'd really fit in with the way Croaker viewed Unspeakable Field Agents (UFAs) and what they should be and how they should act.
Reaching down into the draw, he pulled out the piece of parchment as well as the ink pot with the quill in it. He'd been told that these would be waiting for him to send a letter to those he needed to about his disappearance. Harry was thankful for that, it meant he could at least forewarn Andromeda about him not returning for weeks without raising any concern.
Would he have liked to do it in person? Yes he would have liked to do so, but could he? No, Croaker had made it clear that with the rising Werewolf threat in Europe, he'd at most have less than a month to be trained before being deployed. Considering all UFAs would normally have received at least half a years dedicated training, the fact he was getting less than a month showed just how precarious the situation was becoming.
As much as he would have liked to say goodbye to Andromeda and Teddy in person, he also wanted to make sure that they would be safe.
So, dipping his quill into the ink pot, Harry began writing out his letter.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Good morning, mister Potter." Croaker greeted, far too cheerful this early in the morning. Harry wasn't sure of the exact time, but it had taken him a great deal of time to finally fall asleep due to how uncomfortable the bed was. Then, just as it seemed he had fallen asleep, he had been rudely awoken by a siren-like sound.
And Croaker looked far too chipper for this.
"The first thing you'll be doing, is improving your physique." Croaker said as Harry stood across from him in a large chamber, various ancient weapons dangling from walls and pillars acting as support. Much like the rest of the Department of Mysteries, it was covered in black tiles only lit by lanterns.
And besides the two of them, it was empty.
"Magic is a fickle thing." Croaker continued. "Just as likely to kill you as your enemies. But one way to improve your control over magic, is the state of your body. Your fitness is average, that will need to change. The fitter your physique, the more responsive your magic is. That is what you'll spend the next few hours working on and will be repeated at a similar every day."
"So, what am I going to be doing exactly? A bunch of press-ups, sit-ups and running?"
Croaker smirked. "Actually, yes." This made Harry pause, eyes blinking in shock. "It's a good start, but you'll also be doing more than just that though. I believe, fifty of the first two and why not, let's do fifty laps of this entire chamber while where at it. Should be a good warmup for you."
Sighing, Harry shook his arms and went down onto his hands and feet. "One. Two. Three..." each time he lowered down, his nose almost touching the ground and then pushed back up till his arms were fully extended.
All the while Croaker watched on.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Now that you looked warmed up, let's start with our next bit of today's training." Breathing heavily, Harry braced his hands on his knees, sweat coating his body. His fitness training had ended merely ten minutes ago, and his body was thoroughly exhausted.
After what he considered the initial 'warmup,' Harry had been put through the ringer. Somehow Croaker had numerous muggle workout machines and had Harry work on them all and his muscles were burning and felt like lead. Yet he'd only been given a short rest and a small bite to eat, most of it consisting of potions and now here they were.
"And... what's that?" Harry asked through heavy breaths, slowly standing upright.
"Simple question first." Croaker told him. "What are you without your wand."
"Is that a trick question?" Harry raised one brown in questioning.
"No."
Harry paused, unsure how to answer at first. "Erm, I dunno, wandless?"
Croaker chuckled at his answer." True, but the word I was looking for was useless. And that's the truth. Every wizard and which are useless without their wand. A Field Agent cannot afford to fall into the same trap that all others do."
That's when a door opened an in stepped an older man, even more so than Croaker. "This is Adrian, a former Field Agent and martial arts trainer of the UFAD."
"Hello." Harry greeted.
"..."
"He's a mute." Croaker cut in. "Had his tongue ripped out by an Inferius back 1942. But he was the best hand-to-hand combatant the UFAD ever produced and after his injuries became the martial arts instructor for all future Field Agents. Just like he'll be yours."
Harry looked to the man and studied him a little closer. He was old, that much was clear and there were numerous scars littering his hands and face showing just how much violence he had gone through. But there were also clear signs of muscle, he didn't look he'd be much of a threat, but neither did Croaker and look how that fight turned out?
"So, I'll be sparring him?"
Croaker shook his head. "No, the time in which Adrian could spar has long since passed, his physical body has reached its limits and while he looks like he could put up a fight, it's extremely dangerous for him to do so. Instead, he'll be teaching you the basics of martial arts, how to throw a punch, how to kick, how to grapple and other aspects of hand-to-hand combat. The rest you'll have to learn in actual life and death fights, lucky you."
"Lucky me." Harry snarked.
-X- Line Break -X-
Walking down the corridor, a bruised and sore Harry followed after Croaker with a slight limp to his step. It wasn't even twelve in the afternoon and already Harry was practically dead on his feet. Getting up at three in the morning after barely an hour or two of sleep had been difficult in of itself. Then there had three hours of fitness training which had been exhausting and this was then followed by five hours of martial arts training.
Whenever he'd made a mistake, Adrian had used his walking stick to display his displeasure at his failings. The numerous bruises littering Harry's body were a testament to how much he needed to improve on.
All this had been done with only a minimal amount of food and sleep with only potions to keep him going. Harry would wager that this was all part of the training as well. Just to drive him to the brink of complete physical and mental exhaustion, it wouldn't surprise him if that was the case.
As they continued to walk, Harry didn't ask where they were going. Much like Croaker had told him, he was trying to figure stuff out for himself rather than relying on others to tell him things.
"Here we are, you're home for the next six hours." He opened the door they had stopped outside of and inside was a large room filled with rows upon rows of bookshelves, each fully stocked with their namesake. The layout reminded him of the Hall of Prophecy before he and his friends came along and practically destroyed it.
Leading him to a desk sat in the middle of the room, Croaker summoned a book called, the Secrets of the Dark Arts. "You'll be spending the first two hours studying upon the Dark Arts, I don't want you to simply learn how they work, I want you to learn how to use them. The best way to combat something, is to master it first."
Harry frowned, not liking the sound of it, but didn't say anything, just looking at the book placed in front of him.
"Don't look so down, mister Potter, Dark Magic does not leave a stain upon your core as is so commonly believed nor does it change the way you act. All it does is force you to rely on your darkest urges, desires, and emotions, it's why so many people refuse to use it. Magic is magic, don't let prejudices stop you from using a weapon that could save thousands of lives." Croaker explained.
'Riddle said something similar.' Harry thought, not saying it aloud, but the last bit reminded him eerily of what Riddle had told him.
"After you've done that, you're to read upon magical creatures and detail their strengths, weaknesses and plans to capture and kill them." With that said, Croaker turned on his heel and left, leaving Harry to hesitantly to turn the page of the book laid out in front of him.
-X- Line Break -X-
Walking down the tiled corridor of Unspeakable Department, Croaker stopped in front of a door leading him to a large atrium, letting it swing open. Stepping inside, he stood beside Adrian watching as Harry ducked and weaved around numerous animated statues. It was a good training drill, numerous wooden combatants with spinning arms that built up momentum the more they were allowed to spin. As a result, it was in the best interest of those on the receiving end of this drill to parry the blows as soon as possible or ideally, avoid them entirely.
If they built up too much momentum then a few bruises would be the least of a person's worries.
However, the past three weeks had done wonders for Harry's physique, his once tall, lanky frame had filled it out, become toned with muscle. Sweat glistened off his skin as he parried the wooden arms of the statues. While at first, his body had grown thinner with the lack of proper sustenance, the only thing keeping him working was the various potions he drank on numerous occasions a day. They provide him with the bare minimum of energy that would allow him to get through the day.
This had made Harry struggle exponentially, his level of fatigue rising with each day due to lack of sleep and proper food, but after some time, he started to get better. His mind and body adapting to the harsh training and restrictions placed on him. After he did, Croaker had known it was time to move onto the next phase.
Rituals.
The human body could only withstand a certain number of rituals before their body would begin to breakdown, it varied from person-to-person. They had only performed three and his body seemed to have held up very well, a Body Strengthening Ritual, Magical Potency Ritual, and an Anti-Poison Ritual. Each were self-explanatory in what they did, the first helped strengthen the body to its maximum potential, the third helped someone become immune to most poisons.
The second increased the potency of one's magic, this in of itself is a very dangerous thing. Magical potency was never taught because for most Wizards and Witches, the only thing that they could really improve was their control and stores of magical power. Potency was something that could not be changed as it was something they were born with. Yet it was something the Researchers at the Unspeakable Department had worked tirelessly on trying to change.
They had made some success a few years ago and Harry was officially the first candidate to undergo this new ritual. But to be entirely honest, Croaker was unsure how effective it would be on Harry, especially considering his magical potency was the highest ever recorded in a Wizard.
He suspected that the mix of being exposed to a Horcrux from birth, ancient magical protections, as well as the mixture of Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears in his blood had resulted in his magical potency going through the roof. And in a fight between Wizards, much like the one with more magic or better control, the one with higher levels of potency would be far more dangerous.
The reason it wasn't taught, was because potency was usually such a small and minuscule thing that it never factored into a battle. The difference in potency between two wizards and witches was so small that it had no effect on the flow of a battle. But with Harry's level of potency, it could very well be the deciding factor in a battle.
"How long has he lasted?" Croaker asked, Adrian lifting five fingers, then replacing it with three. "Fifteen minutes? He's improving." One of the main problems with rituals, especially with those like the Body-Strengthening one, it would take time for the body to adapt to the new changes. For Harry, to suddenly find himself moving faster and hitting harder had taken time for him to grow used to the changes.
Nevertheless, Harry was getting better at controlling the adaptions with his new and improved body.
Though not quick enough for his liking.
Flashback Begin:
"The situation is worsening." Kingsley muttered, throwing down today's Daily Prophet showing the headline, 'Werewolf Pack Declare War!' Croaker picked up the newspaper, reading the first few lines before chuckling, placing it back down on the table. "This is not a time to be amused, Croaker. Fenrir has declared war on Europe and now, I'm facing pressure from the ICW to aid them."
"Those bastards!" Croaker chuckled once more. "They leave Britain to face Voldemort when we helped them deal with Grindelwald and now, they want us to help them deal with the Werewolves? What are you going to do exactly?"
"I can't do anything." Kingsley muttered frustratedly. "I'll be facing riots in the streets if I agree to aid them. There's a lot of anger at being abandoned by Europe. And if I don't, I'll be facing international problems, they've already threatened to remove us from the ICW if we don't aid them and that could lead us to war with Europe."
Croaker didn't seem bothered by this news at all. "That's if they defeat Fenrir." The look on Croaker's face said that he didn't think that it would be likely they would, but Kingsley didn't look convinced. "Then it looks to me, like you need a certain problem here in Britain that requires your immediate attention, more than the situation in Europe. Say perhaps, our own Werewolf problem."
Kingsley perked up. "You have something?"
"I have more than something." Croaker smirked. "You see, the Werewolf pack is much larger than we first imagined. Unfortunately, I don't know the true size of their force, but I do know they are attacking four areas."
'Four?' Kingsley wondered internally, his eyes widening slightly in shock. Much like Croaker said, he didn't need to know the true size of their force to know that it was dangerously large. "What places?"
"Russia. Europe. Scandinavia and Britain." Croaker answered.
"What?! They're here?! And Scandinavia? Are they insane?" Kingsley exclaimed in shock, the news that Britain was under a possible siege was more than enough of a shock, but the news that Scandinavia was a target for the Werewolves as well, now that was more than enough to question if Fenrir was insane. Scandinavia was not a country that anyone wanted to agitate. They still had roots to their Viking ancestors and was the only country in Europe not to join the ICW.
Croaker nodded his head. "Oh yes, Fenrir seems to have bitten off more than he can chew on that part. And yes, they're here and I'll provide you proof. I just need your permission and the Muggle Governments permission to operate freely without interference. In both the Magical and Muggle world."
This made Kingsley sigh, rubbing his brow tiredly. "That's going to be difficult, Croaker. Fudge had all but ruined our relations with the Muggle Government after the Sirius Black debacle. Pius Thicknesse while under the control of the Imperius Curse had only made things much worse. I have tried reaching out to them, to try and make amends, but things have been difficult and slow."
Which was bad news considering that without the help of British Government, rebuilding Magical Britain would be an extremely long and arduous task. Especially if the Werewolves' were intending to attack Britain.
"I have a few contacts in the British Government, friends that owe me a few favours." Croaker explained. "Give me permission to move and operate under my own code, and I'll provide you with every scrap of evidence you need to prove yourself to the ICW."
"You want autonomy?"
"I do, yes." Croaker replied shortly, the frown of Kingsleys' face becoming more pronounced as he did. "Look at it this way, Kingsley. My loyalty is first and foremost to Britain, I will do whatever I can in order to secure the safety of it and its citizens. Give me autonomy to operate how I wish, and I'll ensure that Britain is safe from all threats."
Kingsley hesitated momentarily.
"Is he ready?" He asked, referring to one young man in question.
"Not in the slightest." Croaker's words did not do well in raising his spirits. "But we don't have a choice in the matter."
Kingsley frowned in thought before looking up to Croaker. "I'll give you autonomy, after you provide me with evidence. However, I want the British Government on board, and I want a squad of Aurors collecting the evidence necessary with you. After that, the autonomy you request is yours."
Croaker nodded his head, almost looking pleased at Kingsley's firm answer. He never gave an answer, just getting to his feet and leaving. The Minister of Magic didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing.
Flashback End:
"Mr. Potter, if you would be so kind as to stop." Croaker nodded his head to Adrian who stopped the magic keeping the statues animated, he turns and leaving. Meanwhile, Harry took deep breath, turning to look to Croaker with a raised brow. "You have a mission assignment."
"What's it entails?" Harry asked curiously, wiping his face down with towel.
"A simple reconnaissance mission. Get in, gather information and leave." Croaker informed. "Have a shower, clean yourself up, go see your Godson. Then come back tomorrow for a full mission debrief."
"Thank you." Harry said sincerely after a moments pause.
-X- Line Break -X-
It was a warm Saturday morning, but the streets were quiet, many denizens of Birmingham still asleep in bed with a few exceptions. One exception was a relatively attractive middle-aged woman clad in black sports legging and crop top as she jogged down the street. Her headphones were on playing music as she ignored the world around her.
It was as she ran past an alleyway that she heard a loud popping noise, and it caught her off-guard considering she heard it over her music. So, coming to a slow stop, she pulled back her headphones and looked back, cautiously moving towards the alleyway.
"Confundo." A male voice whispered and immediately she turned back around, putting her headphones back on and continuing to run. Perhaps, in the future she would look back and wonder why she so suddenly changed her mind, perhaps not. But for Harry, who peeked his head around the alleyway and made sure no one else was in sight, he didn't particularly care.
Seeing no one else, he went back into the alley and reached up, pulling the mask hanging around his neck all the way up till it rested on his nose, the entire lower half of his face plus his neck fully covered up. He then continued down the alleyway, heading towards the exit on the other side. As he did, he caught a glimpse of himself in a broken mirror resting against wall next to the overflowing dumpster.
His frame was entirely covered in an all-black outfit, a Dragonhide armour suit that looked to be a full body suit but was in fact separate pieces of clothing. His boots, pants, long-sleeved shirt, and gloves were all entirely made of Dragonhide, but each were designed in such a way that they blended into one another perfectly. This was done to maximise protection of the wearer, leaving no openings for an attack to sneak through while also providing greater mobility and freedom of movement.
One thing Harry had learned that was Dragonhide wasn't exactly as advertised to Wizards and Witches. Dragonhide was simply the skin with no scales as was commonly believed by many, a misconception that those clothing brands didn't rectify as it increased their sales. Dragonhide was certainly durable, Croaker had described it as being similar to that of chain mail, except many times lighter. What many didn't know was that there were two other types of Dragon-made clothing.
The first was Dragon Scale armour, the same armour that Croaker always wore. Whereas Dragonhide was formed from the skin beneath the scales, Dragon Scale armour was made by first detaching the scales, then grinding down the scales to a smaller, more manageable size then reattaching them.
It was a painstaking process and while many times more durable than normal Dragonhide, more valuable, it was also very difficult to get a hold of. This was because that Dragon scales took longer to regrow than Dragonhide. Croaker had described it as being similar to wearing full-plate armour.
The second and by far the rarest and most valuable was Dragon Bone Armour. Harry didn't know much about it, only that Croaker had said it was incredibly rare and the most durable of all Dragon made armour.
Reaching the end of the alley, he peaked his head round the corner to look upon the line of apartment buildings. They looked decent, all the windows were in place, it just looked like it was in a desperate need of a makeover. But that wasn't what drew his attention the most, it was actually the two people walking into the building. Two men, one rather skinny, the other rather chubby and they paused, both looking to see if anyone was watching them before entering inside.
'So, it's that building.' Harry deduced, leaning back fully out of view.
Croaker had narrowed down the location of the Werewolf hideout to this particular street in Birmingham, but the size of the Ward that was surrounding the hideout had encompassed a large portion of the street, so they hadn't been able to pinpoint the exact location.
It was just pure luck that he happened to come across two survivors of Fenrir's Werewolf Pack from the Second Blood War walking blatantly through the street. 'They must think they're so clever, hiding in the Muggle world, but they just made it so much easier to find them.' In the Magical world, each building from houses to shops and restaurants all had various Wards surrounding them for protection and other things. It would have been impossible to deduce their location so quickly, even if the Aurors would have been able to operate within that area with impunity.
In the Muggle world there were more restrictions upon Aurors, but it was also much easier to discover their location. All they had to do was look for areas without government approval that had Wards, then narrow that list down to more recent ones.
Reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled on his Invisibility Cloak and after making sure that he was fully covered over, stepped out into the street. He moved carefully and slowly, making sure that no part of his body was covered and as he reached the edge of the Ward scheme, he paused. This was his first challenge, and one Harry wasn't quite sure on how to overcome.
He reached out, placing one hand just on the edge of the Ward and to his shock, felt nothing. Usually, when passing through a Ward a sort of feeling washed over you, but he felt nothing, it was like there was nothing there.
Unsure, but willing to take a leap of faith, Harry fully stepped through and nothing happened. He stood there for a few minutes just to make sure and nothing happened. Harry even looked at the windows, just to see if he could find any sign of movement but there was nothing. And so, confident that somehow while clad in his Invisibility Cloak that he couldn't trigger the Wards, he moved inside.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Well done, mister Potter." Croaker praised, the two stood watching from the rooftop across the street as Aurors', under a Muggle-Repelling Ward brought out the Werewolves bound tightly in chains.
Over five hours had passed since he had completed his first mission, a simple reconnaissance mission as Croaker had told him yesterday. Sneaking in, plotting out possible entrances and exits, total number of hostiles and any other information that could be valuable. Though information in the form of letters could be ignored so long as it didn't put him and the mission itself at risk as they could be collected after the raid.
Either way, Harry had spent upwards of nearly four hours in the building, looking around and searching throughout the apartment. All its inhabitants had been Werewolves or those working for them.
In total there had forty, more than three quarters of which were Werewolves and half of them had been Wizards and Witches. A very dangerous force for sure, but they had been completely unaware of Harry's existence. The Invisibility Cloak as well as the sound and scent suppressing charms he had cast upon him ensuring he couldn't be seen, smelt, or heard at all. Harry had passed them all by without being caught, despite coming close on many occasions.
Then he had escaped out and using a Portkey, sent off a letter that called in a raid, he remained behind to ensure that no Werewolf walked away before it happened. They hadn't and despite the dangerous force they had amassed, they were caught off-guard and taken out relatively quickly.
"You're use of the Invisibility Cloak was quite commendable, I had forgotten about that." Harry raised one brow at Croaker's words, finding that hard to believe. "You'll find it quite surprising how easily it is to forget things. I've probably forgotten more things than you'll learn in the next few decades."
Though as he said that Croaker's eyes did flicker back down to the Invisibility Cloak that Harry was holding in one hand. He hadn't heard of a Cloak that could move through Wards without setting them off, especially not the defensive Wards surrounding this place. A professional Curse Breaker turned Werewolf had helped set it up and some of it was nasty stuff that had needed to be taken down quickly for the raid to work properly.
Unfortunately, the Curse Breaker didn't seem to be among the prisoners which was a shame, he could have been a useful asset.
However, the fact that Harry had been able to pass through undetected was certainly a curiosity and one that Croaker intended to figure out. He knew of course what the cloak was and where it originated from, he just didn't know that it was capable of such a thing. An oddity and one that Croaker hoped could be replicable.
"Nonetheless, we've done it." Harry said. "With this, we now have the proof necessary to keep Britain out of the war in Europe."
"Hmm, that's true." Croaker agreed, his gaze travelling over the prisoners once more. 'I had hoped that this was the only base, but with the Curse Breaker not here it's very possible they may have another base somewhere else. However, with the autonomy we'll gain from this I can deal with them however I wish. But perhaps I can use a few of these prisoners we have for more important means.'
Down below, the Aurors' brought out the last Werewolf and began disappearing from the area one by one.
"Come, we're done here." He said, holding out a rope to Harry who paused momentarily, watching as the Aurors' finished transporting the prisoners away, a final Auror remaining to dispel the Ward surrounding the area. Seeing this, he then reached out, taking the rope and the two also disappeared.
-X- Line Break -X-
Walking down the black-tiled corridors of the Unspeakable Department, Harry turned a few corners, passing by numerous doors before arriving at a dead end. Or so it seemed, as he tapped his wand against the wall in front of him and it shifted open, revealing an area of complete darkness. Yet without hesitation, Harry stepped inside and continued to walk through the darkness.
Eventually, as he took a few dozen steps forward he came to a stop once more, light suddenly filling his vision and Harry reflexively raised one hand to cover his face. "Mister Potter, glad to see that you could make it on time."
Squinting, he looked to Croaker who stood before him and Harry said nothing, instead focusing his attention upon his surroundings. From the layout, the numerous cells lining the walls and more importantly, the three men clad in chains, pinned to the wall it was obvious he was in the Prison section of the Unspeakable Department.
He'd heard of it, but he had never actually been here before.
"The darkness, what was that about?"
"A defensive measure. You won't be able to see, hear, smell, or feel anything while you're analysed. If you're a UFAD then the ring you wear will identify you as such and you won't be killed, and your senses will return to you." Croaker explained and from it, Harry guessed that it wasn't actually a Fidelus Charm, but possibly something close to it. If it was a Fidelus, then Croaker would have said as much, it was the type of man he was.
"Why am I here? You said I'd be doing some more training."
"You are." Croaker indicated to the three men in the cells behind him. "Today, you'll be learning the art of information extraction."
"You mean torture." Harry corrected.
Croaker shrugged. "That's one way of putting it yes." The blasé answer didn't make Harry feel any better. "Don't look so ill, mister Potter, a UFAD must be capable of everything, destruction, sabotage, assassination...torture. You agreed to become one and you will do so."
"But I thought we were simply getting evidence to show Europe that we had our own problems, I don't see why we need to do this."
"We did, but we had an abundance of prisoners that didn't need to be provided to the ICW, so I simply acquired a few to help with your training." Croaker explained. "Let Europe deal with the Werewolves themselves, they abandoned us to deal with Tom Riddle so it's only fair we return the favour. But we can't afford to be unaware of what our enemies are capable of, should the situation in Europe require us to intervene in order to save Britain."
"You don't like Europe, do you?" Harry asked, hoping to stall for time.
Croaker chuckled. "Not in the slightest. Britain risked just as much as they did in order to beat back Grindelwald and we remained untouched by his regime. The rest of Europe were not so lucky and as a result, many of the Pureblood families fled to Britain. So, while the rest of Europe went through much needed political reform, Britain was left at the mercy of Purebloods that stopped us from doing the same."
Harry took note of the anger he could hear in Croaker's tone, anger that kept on growing as he continued to speak.
"Even so, Britain recouped from the damages born from the war against Grindelwald, but then Riddle came along. We came to Europe's aid, upholding the ancient alliances, they did not do the same and do you know why?"
Harry paused, unsure of what to say, but from the look on Croaker's face, he expected an answer. "Erm, jealousy?"
"Correct, jealousy." Croaker said with a smile. "Britain was one of the founding countries of the Magical world, we possess some of the largest and most powerful leylines in the world and the only country in Europe that could challenge us, was Scandinavia. Unlike in the Muggle world, France was not a rival, more of an annoyance. As a result, in the First Blood War, they saw this as a chance to weaken us further and it worked."
"So, you're saying the reason why Europe didn't get involved was to weaken us?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes." Croaker answered. "One thing to understand, mister Potter. The Magical World despite its numerous advancements in society and political reforms, we're still very much like a feudal society. Taking any and all advantage we can to weaken our enemies and allies all for our own advantage. While the rest of Europe advanced, we stagnated."
Harry remained silent.
"Now, enough talking. You have a task to complete and you won't be leaving here till you complete it." Harry looked ready to argue and Croaker noticed this straight away. "If you don't, then we won't have important information about the Werewolves plans. Information that could save hundreds of lives, including yours and the lives of your friends, your family and your godson. These men would kill children like him without hesitation, many were former Death Eaters. Don't hesitate, because they wouldn't do the same."
Despite this, Harry still hesitated, his gazing looking upon the unconscious prisoners. His face showed the internal battle going on between him, torn between doing as Croaker ordered or refusing.
But eventually his countenance shifted, his face going blank. "What do you want me to do?"
"You have three options; you must complete all three." Croaker informed. "You must first identify which of the three techniques would be best suited for which person. The first, Legilimency. The second, the Cruciatus Curse. And the third, a more hands-on approach, the Muggle way."
Harry didn't say anything, just studying the three men in front of him. They were of varying physical statures, one skinny and weak. Another, obese and the final one, strong and muscular. Considering how easily the men fit into the three specific body types and Harry doubted it was simply good luck, more than likely Croaker had picked them out specifically.
Considering the way they are, the weakest looking one would probably hold out the least in either the second or third option. The obese man would probably struggle under the third option and possibly the first as well considering the fact that obesity was usual a result of a lack of impulse control and no will to exercise. He doubted Croaker chose the one man that had an actual physical disability that resulted in obesity.
For Legilimency he would pair up with the obese man.
Muggle torture with the skinny man.
And the Cruciatus Curse with the muscular one.
He didn't know if they were the correct decisions, but he was confident that it would work. It all just came down to whether he could do the same. "Have you made your decision?" Harry nodded his head. "Good, then begin with Legilimency."
"Rennervate." Harry pointed his wand at the unconscious obese man and made sure he made eye contact with him. While over the course of his training with Snape he had only used the spell once, he had never attempted using it again. Even over the course of his training with the Unspeakable Department, he had practised his Occlumency, Legilimency was something he hadn't practised with no actual partner to try it on.
The Mind Arts were a dangerous and obscure art, while Croaker had impressive Occlumency shields according to the man himself. He had still been wary of allowing a Wizard as powerful as Harry to attempt Legilimency upon him. All it took was a simple mistake and Croaker would have his mind destroyed.
So, this would be first time Harry had tried it since the accident in his fifth year.
"Legilimens." He whispered, pointing his wand upon the man. Harry focused hard, trying to ensure that he didn't destroy the man's mind while also ignoring all the unimportant memories that rushed through his mind. It was difficult and Harry found himself struggling under the rush of information coming through his mind, but he held on, pushing on to try and find the information he was looking for.
Eventually, Harry broke the connection and stumbled away.
Breathing heavily, Harry turned to Croaker and went to speak but the man shook his head. "Don't tell me yet, I want you to try again and again, make sure you're getting the right information. Then move onto the next person and then the next."
Taking a deep breath, Harry looked back at the skinny man who was also looking incredibly drained after what had just happened. "Legilimens."
Again, and again, Harry repeated the spell, each time the drain upon him mentally was overwhelming and he struggled to stay on his own two feet. But taking another deep breath, he then looked to the next prisoner and then back to Croaker.
All he received was a nod of the head and after using the Reviving Spell upon the man. He focused back on the feeling he felt when watching Sirius get struck by the Killing Curse, the feeling he felt when listening to Bellatrix's mad cackle of maniacal laughter, of seeing him fall into the Veil. And with narrowed eyes, Harry pointed his wand at the man once more. "Crucio."
-X- Line Break -X-
Stepping out of the cell with bloody hands, he stumbled to his knees and unable to stop the churning of his stomach any longer, Harry threw up. His body shook, eyes wide in horror at what he had just done, and his breathing was shaky.
"Report." But Croaker didn't offer any comfort, in fact his voice was firm and cold.
Harry didn't answer straight away, still struggling to come to terms with what he had just done. Eventually though, he reached up, wiping his mouth, and getting up onto his knees. "There's a base, in Cornwall. They don't know what their total numbers are, all they know is that it's under the command of someone called, Derek Hale. An American Werewolf."
Croaker nodded his head, having already suspected that there was a second base. He then looked down to his watch to see that it was nearing four o'clock in the afternoon, nearly three hours had gone by. Most of it was from torturing the skinny man and the reason it had taken so long was mostly down to Harry's inexperience and reluctance in doing this. However, the young man had shut down his emotions by using Occlumency, just like now.
"Good job." He praised. "Now finish them."
-X- Line Break -X-
In the small, comely abode in London, the matriarch of the Tonks family, Andromeda let the teaspoon clatter into the sink before picking up the two mugs of steaming tea. Turning away from the countertop, she made her way through the doorway and into the living room, only to pause at the sight that greeted her.
Harry Potter wasn't an unusual sight in her home, he absolutely adored his godson, Edward. Whenever he had free time, which he had a great deal of previously before getting his new job.
Andromeda hadn't known Harry personally before, yet she had gained a pretty good understanding of what he was like. He was a good man, kind and caring and always willing to help. Every time she needed a moments rest or have to do something around the house, Harry would either volunteer to look after Teddy or to help around the house.
It was nice to have him around as Andromeda would admit that in the three weeks he had been gone, she had forgotten just how lonely it was with just her and Teddy. Not that she didn't adore Teddy, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.
But she wasn't unaware of the changes going on with him.
His tall, lanky stature had changed, his form filling out with muscle, Andromeda made note of making him buy new clothes considering his old ones seemed to strain against the muscles of his body. His glasses were gone, and his emerald eyes seemed to almost glow, but the most noticeable was the look in his eyes.
Gone seemed that light of almost innocence in his eyes. Even after the war, despite the atrocities he witnessed, there had still been some of that innocence there.
Now, despite the glowing eyes, a common feature in those with unnatural amounts of power, which in turn made her question just as to what he was doing in the past three weeks or what his job was, he seemed almost dead eyed.
His gaze was vacant as he stared out the window, completely ignoring the fussing Teddy who was slapping his legs in an attempt to get his attention.
Andromeda had noticed the fact that Harry didn't seem to be completely focused on anything when he arrived, but he had started playing with Teddy almost like normal. Yet, now she was seeing that whatever was bothering him was far more serious than she expected.
He would never ignore Teddy like this normally.
Moving forwards, she placed the mugs down on two coasters on the coffee table before crouching down beside Teddy. "Come on, you." Picking him up, she sat him down in nursery playpen, filled with toys. "What's this?" Her voice rose in pitch as she picked up the teddy bear, using magic to levitate a few more.
Much like any young child's, Teddy's attention instantly latched onto the toys, gurgles, and cooing escaping his lips. Chubby, little fingers reached out with a large smile upon his face.
Leaning down, she placed a kiss on his temple before moving towards Harry who seemed to still be staring vacantly out the window. "Harry?" She called, but Harry remained silent. "Harry look at me, please."
Reluctantly he did so and whatever Andromeda was going to say got caught in her throat. It was the look she had seen in the face of many former childhood friends and her own sister, Narcissa when they had been married to Death Eaters. They had been forced to do somethings that many did not wish to do.
Did many have a distaste for Muggleborns?
Yes, but did that mean they were willing to attack them?
No.
Many simply wanted them gone, they didn't personally want to be involved with the process of doing so. Some had been forced to do horrifying stuff, things that had scarred them for life. She was seeing the same look she had seen in their eyes, in Harry's.
Andromeda didn't say anything, she just wrapped both arms around his neck and hugged him tight. At first Harry didn't do anything, he just remained rigid and tense. Eventually his shoulders began to shake, his arms wrapping around her and a quiet sob escaped his lips. Andromeda just tightened her grip on him, just providing him something to cry on, to be something to support him in this moment as he had supported her.
She didn't know the story behind what had made him like this.
All Andromeda knew was that holding her tight was a young man in need of someone to show that they were there for him.
-X- Line Break -X-
It had taken a good ten minutes for Harry to calm down and when he had, things still seemed to be bothering him. Nonetheless, Harry seemed to at least be pretending to be his old self as he started playing with Teddy. Andromeda had watched on, worried as to what was really going on with him.
It didn't take a genius to realise that a lot of the changes that Harry had gone through, both physically and mentally had all started the moment he got his new job.
Harry had never told what his job was or what it entailed.
But after the recent breakdown, she had been never more curious than she was now.
Hearing something tapping against the window, both her and Harry turned to see an Owl peeking in through the window. Moving forwards, she opened the window, the Owl thrusting its leg out that had a letter clutched in its talons. As soon as she took the letter, the Owl flew off into the air, Andromeda left temporarily stunned.
She quickly recovered though and looked down at the letter to see that there was a symbol of some kind upon it. It took her a few moments to recognise the symbol as a Triskelion and she was left confused as to what it was doing upon a letter.
"Who's the letter from?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." Andromeda answered. "It just has this symbol on it."
She raised the letter to him, and Harry's eyes widened, body tensing up momentarily. "That would be for me then." He moved forward, taking the letter from Andromeda. "I'll just be a moment."
Stepping out, Harry opened the letter only to find a small note with a mirror inside.
It's a Two-Way Mirror, say my name into it as soon as you receive this letter.
Burning the envelope and note, Harry then raised the mirror, studying it for a moment. To be honest, he didn't know how they were made, but he remembered that his father and Sirius had one when they were younger. Sirius had even given him James' mirror, but Mundungus Fletcher sold it to Aberforth Dumbledore.
"Croaker." He pronounced clearly and the mirror that once showed him his face, rippled, and changed, turning into Croaker's face. "What'd you need, I thought I had the day off."
"Originally, yes." Croaker responded calmly. "But things have changed, Kingsley's managed to improve relations with the Muggle government sooner than expected and now we've gained full autonomy."
Harry was shocked by the news.
Croaker had proposed a timeline of events that would unfold.
The first was of course presenting the evidence of Britain facing its own internal Werewolf threat to the ICW. This would give them a perfect reason in order to stay out of the war in Europe while also focusing on much needed internal problems. But that had changed when the news of there been a second base of Werewolves in Cornwall.
What would have followed would have been the act of Kingsley solving problems with the Muggle government. This in turn would have resulted in the UFAD gaining autonomy to act as they wished.
But things had changed.
Kingsley hadn't even set off for the ICW and after only a single meeting had solved the problems Cornelius Fudge and Pius Thicknesse had created. Which spoke well of Kingsley's future as a Minister, but it also meant that Croaker could move up his schedule.
"Say your goodbyes, mister Potter." Croaker said. "You'll be deployed in Cornwall for the foreseeable future until the Werewolves are dealt with."
-X- Line Break -X-
Appearing with a flash of green fire, Harry stepped out of the Floo Network and without even a pause in his step, walked through the corridor, not saying anything to the fellow Unspeakables as they walked down the corridor. It was strange to be honest, usually the Unspeakable Department was quiet, people in their respective Research Rooms.
It was an odd thing to see Unspeakables walking throughout the corridor when usually they would be hidden from sight. Even then, there was only maybe a handful of people, but considering how it usually is, it was a strange thing to see.
He ignored it all however and carried on till he reached the head office which he pushed open to find Croaker and another man waiting in the office. He was a middle-aged man with slightly greying black hair, brown eyes, and glasses. They were dressed in a fancy three-piece suit with a golden pocket watch chain hanging from his pocket.
Overall, he looked like your typical, cliché rich British man.
"Ah, mister Potter, allow me to introduce you to our main investor and one of our leading researchers, Gareth Greengrass." Harry revaluated the man once more, recognising him as the Lord of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Families. He hadn't known the man was an Unspeakable Agent, but that would explain why not much was known about the man in general.
Part of his training had been to learn more about the Sacred Twenty-Eight Families and other Pureblood families. As well as learning about the individual members of the families, apparently it was about learning to understand what your allies were capable of. One thing Harry had learned was that Croaker didn't trust anyone, not his enemies, not his allies and if he had any, not even his friends.
Harry wouldn't put it past the man to be spying on him as well.
"A pleasure." Gareth extended one hand to Harry who shook it. "I've heard a great deal about your achievements over the years."
Whether that was a joke or not, Harry didn't know nor did he, particularly care. Either way, he just gave a little smile and a firm handshake in return. "Nice to meet you." He then turned to Croaker. "You said something about being deployed in Cornwall?"
"Yes, thanks to Gareth's help, we've confirmed that there are Werewolves in Cornwall. You'll be deployed there and dealing with them; silently." Harry didn't need to be told more on what was expected of him. Considering Croaker had made him torture and kill three Werewolves, it was going to be completely different to his first mission. "Gareth?"
Harry turned to the man, who nodded his head to Croaker. "Here." He handed over a small bag, a pouch really. "Inside is improved an improved bodysuit, Dragon Scale Armour. There's also a number of potions, poisons and other little gifts that will help you in your task."
"Thank you." Harry said as he took the pouch.
Gareth nodded his head after a momentary pause at the abrupt and short thanks he got. His gaze studying Harry curiously as he looks upon the changes in the young man. He hadn't known Harry personally before, but even he had heard of what the man was like before. What he was seeing now was something entirely different to what he had heard.
Not saying anything more, Gareth instead turned on his heel and left.
Both Croaker and Harry watched him leave and as soon as the door closed behind him, Harry turned back to face him. "How long am I going for?"
"As long as it takes to get rid of them." Croaker answered simply causing Harry to momentarily to frown. "Problem?
"No."
"Good." Croaker replied before handing over a letter to Harry. "Inside is the location of the safehouse in which you'll be stationed at." Just as Harry took the letter and went to leave, Croaker spoke up once more. "Oh, and mister Potter, don't fail."
"I don't intend to."
-X- Line Break -X-
"Don't let it get away." One man shouted as he and group of figures rushed across through the forested area.
Occasionally, a man or woman would raise their hunting rifles to their shoulders and took aim, firing at a small animal-like figure that bounded across the ground. Bullets ripped through the air, striking the ground around the creature or at trees. Each one sending grass, dirt and bark flying off away.
Eventually as numerous bullets struck the ground around the creature, eventually one got lucky and struck it. A yelp of pain escaping its lips as the coyote looked around with wide, panicked glowing blue eyes.
Despite the pain it was obviously in, the coyote snarled angrily and continued to run away the moment a group nearly converged on it. As many continued to chase after it, a small number slowed down and stopped, watching as the group chased after the injured coyote.
"I don't even get it?" A woman asked dubiously. "What's so special about this creature?"
"No idea, but I ain't gonna piss off the bosses just 'cos I don't know why I'm doing this job." A man answered, turning to the lead man. He was a tall, muscular, handsome man with black hair and blue eyes. Much like everyone else he seemed to be wearing jeans and leather jacket with a plan shirt underneath. "What do you think about this, Derek?"
The now named Derek didn't answer straight away. "I don't know the reason behind their interest in the coyote, I don't even know why a coyote is in Britain." Derek explained. "But we've been given a task, let's get it over with."
The small group around him remained silent, looking towards one another questioningly as Derek began moving forwards once more, his hunting rifle held loosely under his arm.
As they followed after him, Derek looked up to the sky that peeked through the leaves. 'Why her? What is so special that requires her to be captured alive? There's something I'm missing, but I don't know what it is.'
Before Derek could think on this any further, the area in front of him was suddenly rocked by an explosion, light, and fire bursting to life before him.
Reflexively he leaned back as the heat washed over him and raised one hand to cover his eyes, squinting under the light from the sudden explosion.
"What?!" One of his compatriots cried out in shock.
'Is that the coyote?' Derek questioned, dumbfounded as he rushed across the ground and towards where the explosion came from. 'No, there's no way it could have done this. Someone or something else is behind this.'
As they arrived at the scene, Derek and the others froze as they looked upon the sight that greeted them. There, firing spells from a wand quicker than Derek had seen from the Wizards and Witches amongst the men he had gathered. He constantly moved, his wand arm swinging around and parrying every spell those capable of Magic amongst the Werewolves fired at him while dodging those that he couldn't parry in time.
Yet the mysterious figure seamlessly attacked as well as masterfully defending against every spell that came his way.
Whoever this man was, he was far more skilled and dangerous than any Wizard or Witch Derek had encountered before. But as he watched the shield sprout up, blocking a few spells, he realised that this figure while skilled, seemed inexperienced.
That meant an opportunity.
Flexing his hands anxiously, Derek nodded his head to those around him, they rush forwards and firing bullets from their guns much like the other non-magicals.
So here we are, this is where things will start to kick off and will quickly dial up from 0-100. There will of course be momentary breaks in between, but that will lead up to more conflict. Voldemort's death is a trigger that kicks off more dangerous and violent warfare than seen before, and Harry's stuck right in the middle of it.
Anyway, here are character actors:
Harry Potter – Sebastian Stan.
Kingsley Shacklebolt – Idris Elba
Croaker – Ian McShane.
Andromeda Tonks – Sigourney Weaver.
Adrian – Tommy Flanagan.
Gareth Greengrass – Matthew Mcfadyen.
Hope these are alright with you lot and anyway, let's get onto the questions:
Guest: Okay, how and why? You've given me nothing to work with, so I have no way of knowing how to change them to make them better. You can't just say you're having serious suspension of disbelief and tell me to work on characterisation without providing any examples or ideas on what you want me to do to change that. Well, you can, because you did, but I'm not going to be able to change anything to help you without know why you don't like it and how?
And if, like you've said there's a serious problem with the characters to the point you're suffering from suspension of disbelief, don't be silent and not reply. If you do, I'll just assume that you're a troll.. So please, do respond, provide me examples, and explain why you don't like it. I've had people complain about my characterisation before in other fics, but like you, never provided any examples or reasons and just expected me to know how to change it.
Pato HM: There's no actual pairing, that's because Harry's lifestyle doesn't really support having a proper relationship. Will he have sexual encounters with women? Yes, many in fact. But will he settle down and actually form a romantic relationship? No. At times it may seem like he is, but that's not the case. There is no official pairing for this fic because I'm not planning for there to be one at this moment. Maybe as the story progresses that might change, but as of this moment, despite many sexual escapades, there will be no final pairing. But once again, that may change depending on how the story develops.